Queen Latifah and Mary J. Blige are reportedly joining the cast of NBC’s The Wiz Live!
And they will both be playing major roles, according to an E! News report.
Latifah will play the Wiz, a wizard whose terrifying appearance and blustery grandeur is just a smokescreen and a farce. The Wiz arrived in Oz in an air balloon by complete accident but has since risen to great power and even holds the keys to the Emerald City itself.
Blige will play Evillene, the Wicked Witch of the West, who is after Dorothy and her friends after her sister was killed and after the Good Witch of the North gave away the silver slippers to Dorothy.
The slippers were originally owned by Evillene’s sister, Evvamean, the Wicked Witch of the East.
The Wiz, an adaptation of the beloved The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, tells the a similar story but with a “African-American/multicultural twist,” according to a NBC statement.
The show has won seven Tonys since its debut in 1975.
The NBC ‘event’ is set for December 3.